You can’t swing a cat these days, it seems, without hitting a federal election.  The American election has been going on for years; and thanks to Stephen Harper’s transgressions of his own rules, we’ve got our own to deal with.  Well, bully for us!  Too bad the media are allowing important issues to remain buried.

But we have an opportunity at election time to send a message to our officials about what is important to us and our country.  How many parties pay attention to the issues that mold our quality of life?  Consumer protection, net neutrality, the protection of water and other natural resources.  The Conservatives and Liberals take these things for granted.  They trade them away for a song.  (Well, not the Conservatives, of course.  They don’t believe in the Arts.)

Now is the time to decide how we want Canada to grow and develop in the Internet Age.  We can vote for the things we know are important to us and our country.

This October 14th I’m voting for the Green Party of Canada.  Here’s why:

• The Conservatives are supposed to be all about fiscal conservatism, yet in giving away $200 billion in tax cuts they’re on the brink of bringing us back to deficit financing.  Then, of course, there’s the Arts funding cuts, and the copyright reform bill (the Canadian DMCA).  These guys are dangerous to Canada and Canadians, and for some reason the public are blissfully ignorant of this.  They DEFINITELY need to be stopped.  Want proof?  Read The Harper Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.  Every page is an indictment of this government’s outrageous negative impact on our country and planet.
• The Liberals are, sadly, our best hope, presently, for edging out Harper and his Conservatives.  Yet, they’ve shown their callous disregard for their constituents’ concerns.  And, they’ve repeatedly slammed Israel.  They don’t care for what I care for.
• The NDP, fought against democracy in Canada when they tried to block Elizabeth May from participating in the televised election debates.  And they wanted Canada to attend the anti-semitic Durban II conference hosted by Iran and Syria.  They definitely don’t represent me.
• The Green Party has, understandably, a stated priority to promote electoral reform in Canada, so all Canadians get representation, and not just the 30 or so percent who vote Conservative.  They’re one of the only parties to support net neutrality.  And, of course, they don’t have the long history of screwing over the Canadian public that the other parties carry with them.  Finally, they’re not, as many people perceive them, a one issue party: anyone who watched the debates will attest to the terrific job Elizabeth May did.  She addressed all the issues in an intelligent, thoughtful manner.

One last point: your vote translates into dollars to the party you vote for.  Every vote garners the party $1.80.  So, if you vote for a party you don’t really believe in, you are, in fact, also supporting them financially and putting money in their coffers!  Worse still, you’re taking money away form the party you really do believe in.  So don’t fall victim to the lie of strategic voting: by voting for the party you do believe in, they’ll have more funds to get their message out next time.

So, that’s where I’m coming from.  Whatever you do on Oct 14, please vote.  If you’re thinking of voting Conservative, please read the links above first.  If you’re still thinking of voting Conservative, I entreat you to consider moving to the US.  Possibly Michigan.